Tiananmen Square is a city square in the heart of Beijing, China. The Tiananmen or "Gate of Heavenly Peace" is north of the square and serves as a gate to the Forbidden City.  The Square is one of the top ten largest city squares in the world. It remains a site of much historical and cultural significance for the Chinese people.

The square is home to the following monuments: Monument to the People's Heroes, The Tiananmen, The Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China, Qianmen (front gate), and Mausoleum and resting place of Mao Zedong.

The square is also home to the tragic events of The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

We traveled to the square with our tour group on Tuesday, May 23rd, 2017. We were greeted by a specialized tour guide who took us around Tiananmen Square and through the Forbidden City. Everyone in our group was given earpieces with a small radio for listening to our guide. They called them "whispers". 

I used both my phone camera and my GoPro to capture the experience, so I should have a DTube video up shortly. 👍

Monument to the People's Heroes

Completed in 1958, the national monument is a ten-story obelisk that sits in the center of the square. The Chinese government created the tower to remember the martyrs of revolutionary struggle during the 19th and 20th centuries. 

The Tiananmen

To the north of Tiananmen Square you will find the Tiananmen or Gate of Heavenly Peace. The gate is monumental and was built in 1420. It is widely used as a national symbol of China.

The Tiananmen was built during the Ming dynasty. It served as an entrance to the Imperial City, which housed the Forbidden City.  

The Great Hall of the People

The Great Hall of the People is a government building used for legislative and ceremonial activities. It was built in 1959.

National Museum of China

In 2003, the National Museum of China was completed. It is one of the largest museums in the world, educating over 7 million visitors a year on the arts and history of China. The Museum is directed by the government's "Ministry of Culture".

Qianmen Front Gate

The front gate is situated to the south of Tiananmen Square. Built in 1419, it remains one of the only standing parts of Beijing's old city wall.

Tiananmen Square Birds Eye View

Here you can see how the square is arranged. Our group didn't go near the the Mausoleum and resting place of Mao Zedong, so I don't have any pictures of that structure.

Source: chinadiscovery.com

Military Presence 

There were plenty of soldiers walking around the square. Additionally there were a multitude of cameras positioned on every pole and corner.  

Tiananmen Square Protests Of 1989

Sadly much of the world remembers Tiananmen Square from the tragic events that occurred in June of 1989. The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 were started by student-led protesters in Beijing. The Chinese government forcibly suppressed the protests and declared martial law.

These protests transformed into the Tiananmen Square Massacre, where the military came in with soldiers and tanks killing several hundred protesters who blocked the military's path to Tiananmen Square. Some say the number of civilians deaths was as low as 180. Others have claimed the Chinese killed over 10,000 protesters. The event has also been called the '89 Democracy Movement.

Source: Wikipedia

The iconic tank man picture was taken at Tiananmen Square during this event.

The protesters name was allegedly Wang Weilin 王维林, a 19-year-old Chinese student. The Chinese government claimed nobody by that name ever existed, "according to their records". Other sources say he was swiftly executed. 

During the tour, I carefully and cautiously asked our tour guide what she knew about the Tiananmen Square protest of 1989. She said she did not know about the event I was talking about. . and I asked no further questions.

Either she was not allowed to discuss the event or she doesn't know about it. Either way it is concerning.

China is an amazing place with a beautiful culture. And while freedom has objectively increased in the last 30 years, the Chinese people deserve to be totally free of government and statism. I think everyone deserves that. ✌️ 

Last year, Michelle and I took a month to travel across Japan and China. It was epic! Follow me, @slickwilly and Michelle, @curiouser for posts about our travel adventures!  

Hi there, I’m Will.  First and foremost I am an entrepreneur and voluntaryist.  I aspire to help build a more free world, one that we all want to live in.  Some of my biggest passions include cryptocurrencies, marketing, finance, cannabis, traveling, bodybuilding, snowboarding, motorcycles, and Subarus.  All pictures are my own unless otherwise stated.  I release everything under CC0.  

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